Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

I don't think it's a bad idea, but I would think the box of stuff would be more valuable and could be split among many women than a donation of $10.

Unless you would combine all the money from one TSB to one shelter, but I still don't see people pay full or nearly full price for these things, so idk.

I mean, I know every bit counts, so 10 or 20 bucks is nothing to scoff at, but I feel like the boxes do the most good. Maybe I'm biased because we did toy boxes for shelters and school around here, and I loved seeing how the children would light up with joy. Plus hand delivering the items eliminated the possibility of workers/volunteers taking choice items.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

I think it is a good idea but needs a lot of figuring out first.Don't think i'm the neg nancy here because these are legitimate concerns and others have voiced it too but i'm just throwing my voice out there too

who will do the bidding and the money handling? and how would you prove the money goes?

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

I kind of thought YouAreAlways meant similar to how we do trades? Like, you send the cash, then the TSB organizer sends the product. Once all the products are out and she has the money, she donates the box with the cash. I think I'm confused, lol.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

*One more thing-at the shelter I was residing, the staff and front desk clerks were known to go through donations like these and pick out things they wanted for themselves. I remember right after Christmas, there was a box full of Bath and Body Works and by the time we got it, there were only a few things left.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

I knew a girl and her mom who both worked at a shelter. She furnished her house with miscellaneous furniture and other items that were donated. Each kid (who were friends with mine) had their own loveseat in their bedroom. The oldest boy had 2 sets of bunk beds for sleepovers. I happened to stop by when she had gone shopping at the food bank for the shelter. Her car was loaded with cereal, toilet paper, paper towels, etc! Someone finally caught on to what she was doing and fired her. Her mom was the bookkeeper and lost her job too.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

Devil's advocate here. Just a thought and not aimed at you or anybody specific.

With all the boxes that have gone missing in action i.e. stolen, and the really bad trades in TSBs that some people have pulled how are we supposed to trust that the money would go to any charity and not straight into someone's pocket?

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

I guess we don't know with some boxes. There are certainly some people who start boxes for their own gain and probably keep things for themselves. They are few and far between and it doesn't take long for BT to smell a rat and for word to get around that some people are shady and not to deal with them.

No offense to you but a picture of somebody handing a check to some unknown (to me) person would be a far cry from sufficient proof that the money went to the charity.

If you think it's a good idea and want to start/finish a box and then hold the auction go right ahead. I will be staying far, far away from those shenanigans. It's got trouble written all over it IMO.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

I have a similar feeling. I think the only way it would work is if the winning "bidder" sent their donation directly to the charity. Then shows a screenshot/receipt in order to get the product they bid on.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

My work group sponsored a battered woman's shelter for Christmas. A lot of the woman could only keep a very small bag of makeup with them. We could only give then enough items that would fit in a backpack. I worry about all the great lightly used products that we would still love but get thrown away by the shelters. Where I live they are not allowed to take used makeup items. I travel a lot and I give them the soaps and shampoo's that I collect. A big bottle of shampoo just doesn't fit in what they have to carry with them. They also love the small sample size perfumes. They cannot keep the big bottles with them. It is very rewarding to give to a shelter and money is always welcomed. Seeing the homeless kids will just rip your heart out and seeing a homeless person with a pet just finishes me in.

Re: Just a thought.. Please no hate!

This actually sounds like a good idea. On the one hand, the fun stuff in the tsb's (maybe) is exciting for the women to get...but I don't know. I've actually lived in a homeless shelter at one point and *I* would've fell on my face from happiness upon seeing that stuff donated. BUT, I don't know that the other women would have? I don't know...

On the other hand, a cash donation would definitely help one of these places...without a doubt. I wonder if the individuals in need would get the money or the people at the top? Either way would be beneficial. But I don't know that the women there would get as much enjoyment from money going to the top of the charity.

Bottom line, either is a great and helpful way to help charities. Maybe the tsb boxes help brighten up some people's day...? If the money did go to the people living there I know that would brighten everyone's day. Maybe we should try it once and see what happens and if its well received?